Other MMA Organizations News - Page 93

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Victor Cui is the CEO and Owner of ONE FC, the Largest and most Prestigious Mixed Martial Arts promotion in Asia. I have been a fan since their first show, ‘Champion Versus Champion’. In less than one year they have become easily the second most viewed promotion in the world. I was truly honored to have Victor call me on the phone to discuss the present and future of ONE FC and MMA in Asia.
It wasn’t a Q & A type of interview, it was more like a genuine discussion about ONE FC. Victor is genuinely excited about everything they are doing right now and has an amazing grasp of the situation he and his company are in.
Victor, thank you so much for the call, how is everything on the 25th floor of the North Tower in Singapore today?
Its great Zeus, and its good to speak with you again.
I was talking to one of my friends who isn’t a big MMA fan, and I was trying to tell him what makes ONE FC different than every other MMA promotion. I came up with this: ONE FC is like an Art Gallery,the biggest and best Art Gallery you could ever want to see. ONE FC displays art(Fights) from their own talented artists (fighters), but they also work with other studios (Smaller promotions) to put together a huge exhibit. By being a venue more than being a brand, ONE FC lends credibiltiy to other promotions and fighters as well as their own.
That’s a great analogy of what we do, Zeus.
We are just a little over a month away from ONE FC: Pride of a Nation, and everyone is really looking forward to that.
Is it coming that soon? I’d lost track. (laughs)

Three members of the legendary Gracie family have been added to "ONE FC 5: Pride of a Nation" next month.
The promotion late Thursday announced that Rolles Gracie, Igor Gracie and Gregor Gracie all will compete on its next show, which takes place Aug. 31 at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines, and the event streams online in North America. It's the fifth show for the Singapore-based promotion, which launched in 2011.
Rolles Gracie (6-1) meets Tony Bonello (16-1-1); Igor Gracie (5-2) faces Jung Hwan Cha (8-6); and Gregor Gracie (6-2) takes on Nicholas Mann (4-1). Rolles and Igor are brothers; Gregor is their half brother. All three are students of Renzo Gracie in New York.

The former welterweight and middleweight contender will face veteran Esteves Jones at Titan Fighting 24, which airs live on AXS TV on Friday, August 24.
“I’m excited to make my light heavyweight debut on August 24 in Kansas City for all the Titan Championship fans,” said Johnson. “I respect my opponent, but he’s in my way to get to the top of this new division. I’m looking forward to showing everyone my strength and power at 205, and exactly what I am capable of at this weight.”
Also added to the Titan Fighting 24 card is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Braulio Estima, who makes his MMA debut on the upcoming show.
While Estima is considered one of the top grapplers in the world, he came into the MMA spotlight recently when he accepted a jiu-jitsu match with UFC bad boy Nick Diaz. Unfortunately, Diaz ultimately no showed the event and Estima went without a grappling match that night, but the exposure definitely didn’t hurt his introduction to MMA fans.

Resurrection Fighting Alliance is heading into the UFC's backyard for an event in early October, and it's made another talent acquisition.
The undefeated Sergio Pettis (5-0), who's the brother of UFC lightweight Anthony Pettis, has signed a multi-fight deal with the burgeoning promotion, RFA matchmaker Scott Cutbirth today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
Pettis will fight an opponent to be determined at the event, which takes place in Las Vegas and airs live on Fight Now TV. A date and venue have yet to be confirmed.
Pettis, a bantamweight, trains alongside his brother and a bevy of top-tier talent at Roufusport Academy in Milwaukee. This past month, he earned a first-round submission win in regional competition.
Additional talent featured on the October event includes Tyson Griffin, Gilbert Yvel, Chidi Njokuani, Chris Holdsworth, Bubba Jenkins and Lance Palmer, Cutbirth said.

Invicta Fighting Championships returns Saturday for its second card, and the show will stream live and free online.
Company officials on Monday announced the 14-bout card on Saturday will stream live at the promotion's official website, InvictaFC.com. Additionally, the promotion announced the event will feature Showtime/Strikeforce voice Mauro Ranallo, Bellator light heavyweight Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal and Strikeforce's Julie Kedzie.
Invicta FC 2, which takes place July 28 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan.
The night's main event features 2004 Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann (5-0) against seasoned submission ace Shayna Baszler (14-6). The co-main event features a pair of Strikeforce veterans in Alexis Davis and Hitomi Akano...

Following his release from the UFC in early 2011, former King of the Cage welterweight champion Mike “Joker” Guymon decided it was time to step away from the sport. A year later, he felt amiss in his decision to retire, and decided to return to MMA.
“I took a fight with BAMMA (in March), coming back at 155 pounds and fought Cris Leyva and I felt great,” Guymon told MMAWeekly.com. “I had that fire back in me. Just everything that was missing before, I had that back.”
Then this past Friday, Guymon’s triumphant return continued, as he took a unanimous decision over Xtreme Couture prospect Mike Dizak at BAMMA’s latest installment in Commerce, Calif.
“This was probably the toughest out of all my fights because I did it with a fractured shoulder,” said Guymon. “So to fight someone like Dizak and come out on top with the adversity I went through is something I’m still, like, tripping on.
“I think there’s a couple of things that need to be done on my shoulder, but I want to get back in there,” he said. “I want to work my back into the UFC and show people what I can do.
“I’d love to do it this year, but I think it’d be unrealistic to think I could pull off a huge string of victories quick by the end of this year with the way my physicality is now. I’m thinking that at the very first part of next year, I’d love to have that position where I’m back in the UFC and I’m fighting at 155 pounds.”

The Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) added two more names to its ever growing stable of fighters last week when it announced that it had signed both UFC veteran Tyson Griffin (15-6) and top bantamweight prospect Chris Holdsworth (3-0) to exclusive multi-fight contracts.
Griffin, who signed a three-fight deal with the Nebraska based MMA promotion, is best known for his five year run in the UFC, which began in 2006. During that time, Griffin would earn wins over the likes of Clay Guida, Rafael dos Anjos and Manny Gamburyan before being cut from the organization late last year after going 1-4 in his last five bouts.
Currently training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Griffin is expected to return to the lightweight division following his brief stint at featherweight.
RFA also announced that it had signed Chris Holdsworth to a four-fight deal. Holdsworth, who is a Marc Laimon jiu-jitsu black belt, has won all nine of his bouts (three professional and six amateur) within the first round.

One FC's has added star power to their next event, inking fights that include former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski and Jens Pulver, respectively.
Arlovski will face Australian Soa Palelei, while Pulver is set to scrap with Eric Kelly.
Palelei announced his fight on Twitter.
The onetime UFC veteran has mostly fought in his home country over the last few years, amassing a seven-fight win streak since his last defeat. Palelei (17-3) has been defeated only a single time since his sole UFC bout, which came in 2007 when he lost to Eddie Sanchez. Since then, he's 9-1 with his only defeat coming at the hands of current Strikeforce champion Daniel Cormier.
Arlovski (17-9) has won two straight, with back-to-back knockouts over Travis Fulton and Ray Lopez respectively, while fighting for the ProElite promotion.
Multiple outlets have reported the Pulver-Kelly scrap, which the promotion has yet to officially confirm.

Standing next to the 6-foot-2 Anthony Johnson, it's hard to believe the broad-shouldered slugger ever found a way to make it down to 170 pounds.
And while his critics would immediately point to the four times Johnson has missed weight in his 15 professional bouts, "Rumble" isn't interested in arguing about the past.
After electing to make the move to light heavyweight, Johnson insists he's happier than ever. The stress and worries that once accompanied his fighting career are gone, and at 28 years old, Johnson feels he's making a new start to his career.

In a statement released Thursday on his official Facebook page, Chad Robichaux said doctors discovered serious kidney problems after he failed to make weight for a flyweight title bout with Will Campuzano at Legacy Fighting Championship 12.
Robichaux bowed out of the headliner late Thursday after the fight was set as a non-title affair. AXS TV, which broadcasts tonight's event, confirmed his withdrawal.
Now headlining the event is a welterweight clash pitting veteran Jay Hieron against Romario Da Silva.

A flyweight title fight between Will Campuzano and Jimmy Flick has been added to next month's Legacy Fighting Championship 13 event.
Campuzano initially was slated to fight Chad Robichaux for the vacant belt at last night's Legacy FC 12 event.
However, a tough weight cut and kidney issues forced Robichaux out of the bout a day prior, and the title fight was pulled from the card altogether.

Longtime veteran Jay Hieron earned his first post-Bellator Fighting Championship victory, but it came in controversial fashion.
After locking in a second-round head-and-arm choke over late replacement Romario Da Silva, Hieron squeezed until referee Kevin Hancock stepped in and waved off the fight.
Unfortunately, Da Silva did not appear to be in any danger while offering up what appeared to be a "thumbs-up" signal and resisting the referee's tug of his arm.
The bout served as the headliner of Legacy Fighting Championship 12, which took place Friday night at Houston's Arena Theater. The evening's main card aired on AXS TV (formerly HDNet).

Following back-to-back losses in the UFC, Will Campuzano figured it was time for a change.
A year after receiving his release from the promotion, he’s dropped a weight class, resulting in two straight wins, with an opportunity for a third on Friday night at Legacy FC 12 in Houston.
According to Campuzano, the move down to 125 pounds made sense because, “I was gaining too much weight. The night of the fight I was gaining 15-18 pounds, so it always played against me and was a disadvantage.
“I’m definitely getting used to the weight cut now, and it’s a lot easier. It was really hard for me the first two times, but it’s not that bad this time. I feel real strong, and I was a fast 135er, but I’m even faster at 125.”

This is mostly for the UK guys but this is a great fight. Should Sinclair win he will most likely secure himself a UFC contract. To be honest Winner isn't that far away from another shot himself. I personally can't wait to see this.
Oh, the event is scheduled for Septemeber 15th for those of you who don't want to read through to find the date.

A heavyweight contest between D.J. Linderman (12-3) and Dale Mitchell (5-4) has been added to next week's Legacy Fighting Championship 12 event.
Additionally, Mike Bronzoulis has suffered an injury in training, leaving Jay Hieron (22-5) awaiting a new opponent.
Featuring a battle between Will Campuzano and Chad Robichaux for Legacy FC's vacant flyweight title, Legacy Fighting Championship 12 takes place July 13 at Houston's Arena Theater. The evening's main card airs on AXS TV (formerly HDNet).
Linderman looks to build on the strength of a two-fight win streak that includes a June victory over Mike Hayes for Cage Warriors Fighting Championship's heavyweight title. Linderman previously fought at light heavyweight and made it to the semifinals of Bellator Fighting Championships' season-four light heavyweight tournament before losing a split decision to Richard Hale.

NCAA Division I national wrestling champion Darrion Caldwell is Legacy Fighting Championships' new addition.
The 24-year-old has signed a four-fight deal with the promotion, promoter Mick Maynard confirmed with MMAjunkie.com.
While not official, Caldwell is expected to make his professional and promotional debut in November at the nationally televised Legacy Fighting Championship 15 event in Texas.

If the stars align like we think they will, Tatsuya Kawajiri will soon be a fighter on the OneFC roster based on information obtained by MMA-JAPAN.
In what was OneFC's biggest week in the free agent market, it appears they are about to add long time Japanese superstar Tatsuya Kawajiri to what is beginning to be a very deep roster. Sources with knowledge of the negotiations informed us this week that Kawajiri is very close to signing an agreement with OneFC and a deal will likely be reached "very soon". Both sides are said to be in "very deep negotiations". Adding Kawajiri to the roster would further bolster the promotions status as one of the top promotions in the world.
Kawajiri has been a staple in Japanese MMA for quite some time. As part of many fights that were worthy fight of the year candidates, Kawajiri has never backed down from a good fight. Fights with Takanori Gomi and Eddie Alvarez are just a couple of The Crusher's wars that excited fans around the world.

The India-based promotion has four more events on tap for 2012 – one each September through December – and Ken Pavia said the SFL will hold 10 events in 2013.
On Wednesday, Pavia, the promotion's CEO, announced three new fight bookings on MMAjunkie.com Radio.
UFC veterans Jeff Monson (46-13-1) and Todd Duffee (7-2) will headline the promotion's Sept. 8 card in Bengaluru, India.
Pavia said SFL's Oct. 6 card, in Channai, India, will be headlined by a heavyweight bout between UFC vets Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (12-10) and Trevor Prangley (25-9-1). And he said Satoshi Ishii (4-2-1) will make his debut against Jimmy Ambriz (16-18-1).

Former DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki will join the One FC roster and is expected to debut on the Aug. 31 show in Manila in the Philippines.
Aoki comes to One FC after a tumultuous last few months due to the uncertainty that was surrounding DREAM and that promotion’s future in Japan.